The Cartel 3: The Last Chapter (11 page)

“And the bullet holes in his body were just there for decoration!” the D.A. shouted sarcastically. “Your Honor, you can not let this man—this gangster—make a mockery of the law.” The prosecutor stood to argue more, but was interrupted by the impatient banging of the judge’s gavel.

“Does the State have any other evidence to present besides the witness?” the judge asked.

“No, Your Honor, but—”

“I move for immediate dismissal of the case.” Beckham was a shark. He did not even give his adversary a chance to finish his sentence.

All the while, Carter sat back unscathed as he watched the amusing charade go down. It did not matter how much protesting the prosecutor did; he was getting off. The amount of money that the Garza Cartel had put up to make it happen ensured it, and as the judge looked his way, they shared a knowing glance.

“Motion for immediate dismissal granted,” the judge announced
The courtroom erupted in mayhem as Carter shook his attorney’s hand.

Before Carter could celebrate too much, the prosecutor stood. “Your Honor, the defendant has a new charge pending. He was involved in a prison brawl that resulted in the injury of one of his fellow inmates. We ask that he be held on this new charge that we will be actively pursuing.” Carter’s eyes burned holes through the white man as the judge approved the request. The government was doing everything in its power to keep him locked up.

Before Carter could even express his displeasure, Beckham leaned into his ear. “Don’t worry about it. That is just the desperate measures of a persistent D.A. You just made them look bad. Not many people are able to beat a federal conviction. They are pulling tricks out of their bag to delay your release from prison. I’ll make sure that the technicalities are taken care of immediately. You will be out by this evening,” Beckham assured.

“Ensure that I am,” Carter instructed as he allowed the bailiff to escort him away. He told himself that it was the last time he would ever be placed in handcuffs. Prison was not for him. Although he had gained a valuable new connection behind the wall, he had also had a piece of his soul taken from him, and he would die first before he ever allowed anyone to drag him back to hell.

Mecca sat patiently on Estes’ block as he monitored his home. Since he discovered that Leena was alive, she had been on his mind constantly. He was the last person that she wanted to see, but he only needed a moment of her time. She was the only person who could supply him with the answers to the questions he sought.

Her fear of him was evident, and it disturbed Mecca that a woman he had once loved was so terrified of him. Although his anger was still fresh, he had convinced himself that enough was enough. Murder was not the way to solve this problem.

Mecca was tired of killing. He resented his position as the bad seed of his family. Even he had to admit that his aggression and disregard for life had pushed him to the edge. It was one thing to murder because you had to, but Mecca actually enjoyed it. He looked forward to the powerful feeling that taking a life gave him, but it had become a problem when he had begun hurting those that he loved. His ruthless nature was once his best quality when he knew how to control it, but he had taken it too far. Now all he was seeking was redemption.

He had been stalking Estes’ house for hours, patiently waiting for his chance to get Leena alone. Finally she emerged, and Mecca admired her closely as she secured his nephew in the backseat of one of Estes’ luxury vehicles. He was curious about her relationship with his grandfather, and as she pulled away from the villa, he followed, keeping a comfortable distance so that she would not detect him.

He noticed that Estes had one of his men following Leena as well. It would not be easy for him to get her alone. As she moved in and out of the boutiques on Collins Avenue, Mecca kept a close eye. He was just waiting for the right opportunity to make his move. Estes’ men were well trained, and there would be no getting to Leena undetected. The only way for Mecca to approach her would be to go through her protection.

He watched as Leena stopped at a small eatery. He knew that her brief lunch would buy him some time. He parked a block away and then went to the nearest pay phone. He usually hated the police, but today they would aid him in distracting Leena’s bodyguard.

He placed a 911 call, giving the police the license plate number to the bodyguard’s car, and accusing him of harassing shoppers. Knowing that they were in a prestigious part of town, he knew that the cops would respond almost immediately.

As soon as he saw the squad car flash its lights on the bodyguard, Mecca slipped into the store. Spotting Leena at a quaint table in the back, Mecca approached her.

It was as if her body sensed Mecca’s presence. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her breath caught in her throat before she even knew he was there. Warning bells went off in her head, and when Leena looked up from her menu, she froze like a deer in headlights. Because of Mecca, she was that tuned in with danger. Mecca’s presence made her body tense in trepidation.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” Mecca stated peacefully as he stopped where he stood. “I just want to talk to you, that’s all.”

Leena looked around for her bodyguard, and when she did not see him, she immediately began to gather her things. The small caliber handgun she carried in her child’s diaper bag gave her a small peace of mind, but she knew that her shot could not match Mecca’s. If he wanted to kill her, he would. She had seen how he got down with her own eyes. She picked up her son. She knew that Mecca would not pop off on her in the crowded eatery. He didn’t like witnesses.

As he watched her scramble with her things, his heart broke. At one time, he really had loved her, and he knew that only he was responsible for the fear that she felt toward him.

“Leena, you have my word,” Mecca said sincerely. He peered outside of the café window and noticed that the guard was still being harassed by the cop. “Can we go somewhere? Leena, give me at least that.”

Leena wanted to tell him no, but she would only be avoiding
the inevitable. Mecca was persistent, and his arrogance did not allow for people to turn him down. If she told him no today, he would only come back tomorrow and the day after, until she eventually said yes.

“Lift your shirt,” Leena stated, her tone serious.

Mecca lifted his shirt discreetly as he stepped close to Leena, so that the other patrons in the bistro could not see what was going on. She removed his pistol and pressed it against his back. If they were going to talk, it was going to be on her terms. “Walk to the back,” she instructed nervously, baby in one hand and gun in the other.

Mecca smiled as Leena took him for a walk out of the back entrance. She had most definitely changed for the better. She was a bit wiser, more cautious, and definitely more street savvy than he remembered. Her time around Estes had not gone by in vain.

When they were finally out in the alley, Leena asked, “What do you want?”

The gun was still pointed in Mecca’s back as he replied, “I’m going to turn around now.” He chuckled at the irony of the situation and continued. “Whatever you do, don’t shoot.”

Leena’s hand trembled, yet her eyes were determined and revealed to Mecca that she would protect herself if he gave her a reason to. When he was fully facing her, he said, “Is this Money’s son?” He already knew the answer to his question, but he needed to hear her confirm it.

He could see a sense of pride and also shame wash over her face as she answered, “Yes.”

Mecca smiled at the sight of his nephew. “What happened, Lee?” he asked, calling her by a nickname that only he used. “How did everything get so fucked up?”

Leena steadied her aim as she answered, “I was in love with two brothers. Money and I never meant to hurt you, Mecca.”

“He was my brother. How could you fuck with him, Leena? How could he fuck with you? He knew how I felt about you,” Mecca whispered.

Leena’s eyes widened in disbelief. “How you felt about me, Mecca?” she shrieked. “I didn’t even think you were capable of feeling. You wanted Money to see a love that didn’t exist.”

“You can really stand there and say you didn’t love me?” Mecca stated angrily.

“You know I loved you, Mecca … but you were the one who never showed it back. Why would Money, or Breeze, or anyone else for that matter know that you loved me? I didn’t even know! All you did was ho me, Mecca. You fucked around with this bitch and that bitch, all the while wanting me to stay faithful to you.” Utter confusion spread over her face and she stared at him as if everything was his fault.

“Those other bitches didn’t mean shit to me, Leena! You knew that! I’m a Diamond.”

Leena rolled her eyes at his arrogance and lowered the gun as she dropped it on the ground in disgust, unable to let him finish his sentence. “Yeah, I know you’re a Diamond, Mecca. Me and everybody else in Miami knows! That still doesn’t give you the right to behave the way you do. It didn’t make how you used to treat me hurt any less.” She shook her head back and forth. “You know what? I don’t even know why we’re standing here doing this,” she said as she began to turn away. Mecca grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving.

“Leena, I didn’t always know how to show it, but I did love you. You were the one I broke bread with. You were the only woman I trusted. You knew everything … what I did, where I slept, the combination to the safe. It may have been a fucked up way to love. Shit wasn’t sweet or on no lovey-dovey type shit, but it was the only way I knew how to show it,” Mecca revealed. “I’ve never been like Monroe.”

“I never asked you to be.” Leena stopped him. “But when things got really bad, I began to notice how gentle Monroe was, how patient and loyal he was, and I got caught up. I fell for him. I know that it was wrong, and I knew all along that it would hurt you, but as much as you had hurt me, I did not care. I just wanted to be happy.”

“All the bitches in Miami, and Money had to choose mine,” Mecca stated callously.

“I think you should know that Money loved you. He loved you so much that he was going to cut everything off with me. The night you caught us, he told me that he would never be with me,” Leena admitted.

Hearing this caused Mecca’s eyes to become misty as he tried to control his emotions. “I killed him, Lee,” Mecca said aloud for the first time as he broke down. There was no reason to lie to her. She had been there. She was the only person in the world who truly knew every aspect of the truth. He hit the concrete wall with his fist.

“You did,” Leena replied. Although her heart ached for him, she held back. He did not deserve her sympathy. She could not allow Mecca to pull her back into his chaotic world. Her life was centered, healthy, safe, and nothing but danger dwelled around him.

“I’m sorry, ma. I’m sorry for everything,” he finally said, conceding to the guilt that had been torturing him from the very beginning. He did not know what the hell was happening to him, but he did know that the lifestyle he led was slowly becoming harder to maintain. Everything had been so much easier when he had his family behind him. When his father, brother, mother, and sister were alive, he had something to go to war over. He had things to kill for. But now that they all were gone, Mecca felt empty.

“I’m not the person who can forgive you, Mecca. You have
filled your life with so much bad that you have no room left for the good,” Leena whispered. “God is the only one who can take the burden away, the guilt. You need to talk to Him.”

Mecca nodded his head and gripped the bridge of his nose as he nodded toward his nephew. “Can I hold him?” he asked.

Reluctantly, Leena handed her son to his uncle. The Diamond familial connection was so strong that the little boy instantly took to Mecca. Her eyes filled as she watched her son wrap his arms around Mecca’s neck.

“What’s good, li’l man?” Mecca greeted as he hugged Monroe Jr. Everything about the little boy reminded him of his late twin. “I owe you the world,” he said as he kissed the little boy on the forehead and handed him over to Leena.

Memories of his childhood years with his brother flooded him. It was as if he were staring directly at the past when he looked at Leena’s son.

As he began to walk away, one more question nagged at him. He stopped and said, “One more thing. How long have you been living with Estes?”

“Since the day that you shot me,” she responded.

Tension filled the space between them as they both recalled that fateful day, and although Mecca had no right to ask, he had to get one more thing off of his chest.

“Are you fucking him?” His tone was not demanding or angry. It was just something he needed to know.

Leena wanted to tell Mecca that it was none of his business, that he was no longer entitled to know who she chose to become intimate with, but she did not. A part of her—the part that felt guilty for sleeping with Monroe, the part that felt guilty for having his brother’s child, the part of her that hated the sad look in Mecca’s eyes—this part of her allowed her to answer.

“No, Mecca. I’m not sleeping with Estes. He says that he
loves me, but I don’t know if I can give it back,” Leena replied.

Relief washed over Mecca, and he said, “I want to see you again, and I want to get to know Money’s son. I know I have no right to ask, but—”

“Estes will kill you, Mecca. He isn’t making idle threats. If he even thinks you are around Money’s son …” Leena objected. Estes was not her only concern; simply the only one that she voiced.

“I don’t care. I have a lot to make up for, Leena. I don’t owe Estes shit, but I owe Monroe everything. If you don’t want me around, then I’ll leave without looking back, but nobody else will stop me from getting to know my brother’s son. I’m trying to make things right,” he stated sincerely.

“This is all too much for me right now. I love my son, Mecca, and I’m not going to lie; I don’t trust you.” Leena opened the back door to the bistro. “I’ll think about it. Just give me a little bit of time.”

“I’m not one of God’s children, because I’m too much like the devil.”